As part of VettaFi’s 2025 Exchange conference, a wide variety of panels were held to cover the most pressing financial topics.
The state of play for the crypto industry was one such topic. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, held a panel to discuss how crypto ETFs have fared thus far, and what advisors should be aware of in the long-term.
One of the members of this panel was Matt Kaufman, SVP and head of ETFs at Calamos Investments. Together with Balchunas and Samir Kerbage, CIO of Hashdex, Kaufman broke down how crypto ETFs have fared thus far, what to expect from bitcoin down the line, and more.
State of Play for Spot Bitcoin ETFs
To begin, Balchunas focused on first impressions of how the ETF adoption of spot bitcoin funds went. In particular, he asked the panelists whether they expected the investment community to embrace spot bitcoin ETFs as much as it inevitably did.
“I expected the growth, but I didn’t expect it to come largely from retail,” noted Kaufman. He added that he expected more of the bitcoin growth to come from the financial advisor community. However, Kaufman assessed that many advisors are still in the midst of building out their crypto strategies.
Portfolio Construction Insights
On the topic of crypto strategies, Balchunas asked the panelists how they view cryptocurrency in terms of portfolio placement. In a traditional 60/40 portfolio, what asset is getting pulled out and replaced with bitcoin?
“That 60/40 model like you were talking about, I don’t think you have to do it that way anymore,” Kaufman responded. Elaborating, he highlighted a few ways to take a traditional portfolio approach and apply it to bitcoin exposure.
As an equity alternative, Kaufman noted that market research recommends selling some Magnificent Seven exposure in favor of 1–2% of bitcoin access. Inversely, Kaufman added that the Calamos suite of Protected Bitcoin ETFs can also serve as potential alternatives to a cash or safe bond strategy. In particular, Kaufman highlighted the Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF – January (CBOJ) as an opportunity to offer potentially higher returns and a similar risk profile to that of a traditional risk-adverse strategy.
Looking Ahead
To close out the panel, the discussion turned to bitcoin’s future. The panel received a question from an audience member, asking if the market has seen the end of the 75% crypto drawdowns.
Kerbage assessed that volatility with bitcoin is inevitable. However, he added that the extent of volatility from bitcoin drawdowns has decreased over the last few years.
“Hopefully we’re not going to see 70-80% drawdowns, but we’re still going to see significant roll downs,” added Kerbage. “That’s top of the game for any emerging asset class. We have no reason to believe that it’s not going to repeat. But again, for the long-term investors, they get to benefit from those drawdowns.”
“If you’re a student of history, we see a crypto winter every fourth year,” Kaufman noted. “We’re in the third year of four. I can’t predict the future, but if it’s for me, I’m protecting against that potential fourth year.”
Calamos Investments offers a number of different Structured Bitcoin ETFs within its fund library. These funds provide exposure to bitcoin, along with varying levels of downside security over a designated outcome period. To learn more about these funds, visit calamos.com/protection.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Crypto Channel.
Before investing, carefully consider a Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. Please see the prospectus and summary prospectus containing this and other information which can be obtained by calling 1-866-363-9219. Read it carefully before investing.
The Funds seek to provide investment results that, before taking fees and expenses into account, track the positive price return of the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate – New York Variant (“BRRNY”) (“Spot bitcoin”) up to a predetermined upside cap (the “Cap”) while seeking to protect against 100%, 90% or 80%, respectively, of losses (before total fund operating fees and expenses) of Spot bitcoin over a period of approximately one (1) year (the “Outcome Period”). The Funds will not invest directly in bitcoin. Instead, the Funds seek to provide investment results that, before taking total fund operating fees and expenses into account, track the positive price return of Spot bitcoin by investing in options that reference the price performance of one or more underlying exchange-traded products (“Underlying ETPs”) which, in turn, own bitcoin and/or one or more indexes that are designed to track the price of bitcoin (“Bitcoin Index”).
The Target Outcome may not be achieved, and investors may lose some or all of their money. The Funds are designed to achieve the Target Outcome only if an investor buys on the first day of the Outcome Period and holds a Fund until the end of the Outcome Period. While the Funds seek to provide 100%, 90% or 80% protection against losses experienced by the price of Spot bitcoin for shareholders who hold Fund Shares for an entire Outcome Period, there is no guarantee a Fund will successfully do so. If a Fund’s NAV has increased significantly, a shareholder that purchases Fund Shares after the first day of an Outcome Period could lose their entire investment. An investment in the Funds is only appropriate for shareholders willing to bear those losses. There is no guarantee the Capital Protection and Cap will be successful, and a shareholder investing at the beginning of an Outcome Period could also lose their entire investment.
An investment in the Funds is subject to risks, and you could lose money on your investment in a Fund. There can be no assurance that a Fund will achieve its investment objective. Your investment in a Fund is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency. The risks associated with an investment in a Fund can increase during times of significant market volatility. The Funds also have specific principal risks, which are described below. More detailed information regarding these risks can be found in the Funds’ prospectus.
Digital Assets Risk: The Bitcoin network was first launched in 2009 and bitcoins were the first cryptographic digital assets created to gain global adoption and critical mass. Although the Bitcoin network is the most established digital asset network, the Bitcoin network and other cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry that is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. Moreover, because digital assets, including bitcoin, have been in existence for a short period of time and are continuing to develop, there may be additional risks in the future that are impossible to predict as of the date of this prospectus. Digital assets represent a new and rapidly evolving industry, and the value of the Underlying ETPs’ shares depends on the acceptance of bitcoin. The realization of one or more of the following risks could materially adversely affect the value of the Underlying ETPs’ shares.
Investing involves risks. Loss of principal is possible. The Funds face numerous market trading risks, including authorized participation concentration risk, underlying ETP risk, cap change risk, capital protection risk, capped upside risk, cash holdings risk, concentration risk, clearing member default risk, correlation risk, costs of buying and selling fund shares, counterparty risk, derivatives risk, equity securities risk, FLEX options risk, interest rate risk, investment in a subsidiary, investment timing risk, liquidity risk, management risk, market maker risk, market risk, new fund risk, non-diversification risk, options risk, OTC options risk, position limits risk, premium-discount risk, secondary market trading risk, sector risk, tax risk, trading issues risk, U.S. Government security risk, U.S. Treasury risk, and valuation risk. For a detailed list of Fund risks see the prospectus.
100%, 90% or 80% capital protection is over a one-year period before fees and expenses. All caps are predetermined.
Cap Rate – Maximum percentage return an investor can achieve from an investment in a Fund if held over the Outcome Period.
Protection Level – Amount of protection a Fund is designed to achieve over the Days Remaining.
Outcome Period – Number of days in the Outcome Period.
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